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Patricia Sands

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lavender

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

July 2, 2021 by Patricia Sands 1 Comment

Bonjour ~ how can July be here already? I just got started on June …

I hope summer has arrived in all the best ways where you are. Our thoughts are with everyone who is being hit with the extreme heat waves and also those impacted by the condo tragedy in south Florida. Here is some information on how we can help.

I hope in some small way the blog posts you receive from authors and other bloggers bring some good moments to you. I’m beginning July by sharing with you my most recent newsletter. I’m up to my eyeballs on edits for a new book and hope to share more news of that with you at a later date.

For now, please enjoy the lavender … breathe in! And enter to win an Amazon gift card! Why not?

Newsletter # 87                                            June 21, 2021

Bonjour,

Happy Summer Solstice! I know how happy we all are to welcome summer and hopefully bid a loud good riddance to the dreadful pandemic. I trust you are all safely vaccinated as the world begins to open up again. It’s hard to believe that June is well on its way to being over.


Under normal circumstances, I would be in France right now with one of our tours. We would be ready to spend some time in the enticing lavender fields of Provence, but that is still not happening. I’m counting on 2022. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a few minutes imagining ourselves there. If only I could infuse these photos with fragrance!


The header photo of this letter is from one of the most special … and favourite … places to view lavender, the Cistercian Abbaye de Sénanque. Dating from 1134, the abbey remains an active monastery run by a community of monks who gather seven times a day to pray. If you plan to visit, arrive very early to beat the crowds at this time of year. A tour of the abbey is recommended.


Just because so many of us love lavender, here are a few more shots from France. I must admit I was not a big fan until the first time I stepped out of the car beside a field in full bloom. The heady sensation breathing in those scents for the first time is an unforgettable memory.


Although, this lavender field in the last photo is small, it is the one that is most special for me. This is the garden at the back of the monastery/asylum of St. Paul de Mausole, just outside St. Remy de Provence. It’s a place we visit on our women’s tour and I write about it in Drawing Lessons. Vincent van Gogh looked out on this garden as he spent one of his final (and most prolific) years there. A visit to the monastery is always a spiritual experience and I am counting the days until I’m back there in September 2022 to share it with our tour.

While I’m on the topic of lavender, here’s some good news! Book #3 in the Villa des Violettes series, Lavender, Loss & Love, is on sale for $1.99 right now.  Click here to
order your copy.



I hope in another month or so to share some new information about that series. Stay tuned!


In my last newsletter, I offered gift cards rather than free books and that idea was very well received. I still want to share books by author friends and will do so again in the autumn. For the summer, I am going to continue with gift cards … and who doesn’t like shopping for a new book or two?


I’m in the midst of editing my next novel and this one is LABOR INTENSIVE, let me tell you. So I’m cutting back on my summer newsletters to spend that time deep in my editing cave. I promise it will be worth it when the novel comes out. I don’t have a definite date on that yet, but will keep you posted. 


To enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card, simply send an email to patriciasandsauthor@gmail.com and tell me something special you have planned for the summer. We will let random.org software choose the winners. Good luck! Bonne chance!



Congratulations to the previous newsletter winners:

Sue Ahn, Karina Thibodeau, Diane Bryant



Recently I spent a week visiting with the great book community of Bookish Road Trip on Facebook.   On Thursday, 24th, at 7 p.m. I had a LIVE chat there with Melissa Face, author of I Love You More than Coffee. If you did not join us Live, you can always view the video at your convenience.

Before I sign off, here’s a reminder about The Good Life France’s quarterly ezine. The summer edition is out and, as usual, Janine Marsh has done a fine job! Filled with exquisite photography and excellent articles, it’s free, fabulous and all about France! What could be better? Click right here to open and enjoy.


Since I’m doing a bit of lavender overload this month, here are a few recipes you might find enticing! I’ve posted them before and would be truly interested to know if you have tried any of them. I’m always looking for new recipes using lavender, so please do share!


My wish is that you are feeling as hopeful and optimistic about the future as I am. There are still reasons to be cautious and if you are recovering from the lingering effects of Covid 19, my thoughts are with you. 

Once again, to all essential workers who sacrificed so much to keep the world turning for the rest of us, our eternal thanks.
And now, back to edits!



Stay well, my friends, be kind to one another, read a lot and appreciate every single day. Profitez de tous les jours! I’m reminded on a regular basis that the best part of being an author is hearing from readers. I value the messages I receive from you. Thanks also for sharing my books with your friends and for the reviews you write. It’s all most appreciated and inspiring. See you next month!

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog, France, If it is France..., Photo blogs, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: France, lavender, newsletter, Patricia Sands, Provence

Dreaming, I’m Always Dreaming …

January 15, 2016 by Patricia Sands 22 Comments

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Even though January is only half through, my thoughts keep floating ahead to June when we will head back to France. Here are a few things I’m dreaming about:

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The jacaranda trees will be in bloom and so will the fields of sunflowers,

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and the lavender … I can smell it now! My shutter finger is already beginning to twitch …

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There will be two glorious weeks back in Arles, following the footsteps of Van Gogh and being a flâneur … making notes … taking photos …

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And then … be still my heart … back to Antibes to discover more about Katherine and Philippe and Simone and Nick … and who knows what else …

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And Nice … oh yes, Nice … days in Nice with friends and French lessons and the turquoise waters of the Med … and more notes for stories …

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Yup, dreaming … I’m always dreaming …

Have you begun dreaming about how 2016 will be for you? Even if it’s not going to happen, it never hurts to dream. Dream along with me! I’ll take you with me on the blog and bring you to the south of France in another new novel. Avec plaisir … 

Bon weekend, everyone!

Okay, I have to admit something now. From the minute I wrote the title for this post, a song has been playing over and over in my head. You know how that happens sometimes? It has absolutely nothing to do with France … and comes from waaaaaaay back in the day for me. Probably before your time!  So I had to find it and share it … ah, yes, memories of the Friday night Teen Town dances … a great jive song too! Excusez-moi while I have a little burst of melancholy!

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Filed Under: Blog, France, If it is France..., Photo blogs, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: Antibes, Arles, Cote D'Azur, Dreams, France, French Riviera, lavender, Love In Provence, novels, photography, sunflowers, travel, trip fiction, Van Gogh, writing

‘Tis the luscious lavender season

July 4, 2015 by Patricia Sands 22 Comments

IMG_6002If it’s Friday, it must be France …

“Lavender is the soul of Provence” ~ Jean Giono, author of The Man Who Planted Trees (A quick 4000 word short story you will enjoy.)

It’s that time of year again in France! Lavender season is at its peak. I was never an avid fan of the scent until my husband and I drove up through the lavender fields a number of years ago so … no surprise here … I could take photos. When we opened the car door and stepped out, we were enveloped in a calming fragrance that was both intense and delicate. I wish I could add that to these photos, but I hope somehow the magic of it comes through.

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Small growers and private gardens create patchwork quilt views through the countryside.

IMG_4968 Some landowners grow lavender simply for their own pleasure.

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Where there is lavender, there will be bees. Delicious honey is one of the many offshoots of lavender production. Try it with goat cheese or in a salade de chèvre chaud. Yum!

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Explore the back roads and stop in to buy from local producers.

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The Cistercian monks of the 12th century Abbaye de Sénanque continue the ancient tradition in an isolated valley near Gordes. It’s a “must” stop on the lavender trail.

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Visit early in the morning to avoid tour buses and find the best light for your photos.This photo was taken early in the season, about two weeks before the peak of glorious color.

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And other times, the fields seem to go as far as the eye can see. It’s almost hypnotizing.

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A visit to the Musée de la Lavande in the hameau de Coustellet, near Avignon, is advised and guided tours are available in seven languages. Learn the difference between lavender and lavandin and the way they are grown and used. Discover the natural benefits of the essential oil produced and be sure to inspect the collection of stills dating back to the 16th century.

Of course, if you aren’t in the neighbourhood at this time of year,  local markets will always have plenty of lavender products to tempt you year round.

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Are you a lavender fan? Do you grow it in your garden? To see more information about the plant’s history, what to do with it and where to find it in France, including maps, click here.

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Filed Under: Blog, France, General Travel, If it is France..., Photo blogs, Writing Tagged With: Abbaye de Sénanque, Avignon, bees, Coustellet, Jean Giorno, lavandin, lavender, lavender honey, Love In Provence, Musée de la Lavande, Patricia Sands, Provence, Salade de Chèvre Chaud

Travel theme: PURPLE

July 22, 2014 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

Ailsa’s Where’s My Backpack Travel Theme is a favourite blog stop of mine. The theme this week is “Purple”. Click right here to check out the amazing diversity of photos others have posted on the theme.

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Knowing where I’ve been hanging out recently, is there any question what kind of purple I’ll be posting? Thanks for your patience while I get PURPLE out of my system!

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These are some of the shots I took when we visited some lavender fields in the Luberon area of France, on the two tours I just completed with the Womens Travel Network. What a fabulous time we had and I’m sure you can imagine how many photos like these we all took! Too irresistible!

Have you visited fields like these in other places? Do you grow lavender in your own garden?

Apart from the visual beauty and fragrance of these plants, lavender’s essential oil has a great variety of important uses that can uplift your life (and mood), heal and entice in a variety of ways. Visit this website for more details and add a little drop of purple into your life!

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Filed Under: Blog, France, Photo blogs Tagged With: Ailsa's Where's My Back, France, lavender, lavender fields in Provence, photo challenge, postaday

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